Delegation to Finance Minister to explain our campaign on banking sector and to submit the Mass petitions.

As a part of our national campaign on the increasing attacks on the banking sector, on the Government’s measures of banking reforms and on our demand to strengthen public sector banks to ensure a vibrant economy, we collected nearly one crore signatures in the mass petitions containing our demands. These petitions were to be handed over to the Government during our Parliament Morcha in March, 2016. Since the programme had to be deferred, we organised a National Dharna before Parliament on 26th April, 2016. The Dharna was participated by all Office
Bearers, Central Committee members and General Council Members of AIBEA.

The Dharna was inaugurated by our President Com Rajen Nagar by emphasising the need for more and more struggles and campaign to resist and repulse the banking sector reforms of the Government.

a) Banking reforms: We submitted our Memorandum to him and expressed our concern about the policies being pursued by the Government. Finance Minister gave a patient hearing and assured
that Government is equally committed to strengthen the public sector banks and their concern is to make our PSBs more efficient.

b) IDBI Bank: We raised the pointed issue of proposed privatiisation of IDBI Bank to which the FM explained that Government has no plans to hand over the Bank to any major private corporate sector and their only agenda is to make IDBI Bank more efficient. We gave our perception of the issue and requested him to re-examine their decision to reduce the Government equity in IDBI Bank to less than 50%.

We also urged upon him to intervene to reverse the vindictive actions of the IDBI Bank management.

c) Associate Banks: We also brought to his attention to the problems continuing in the Associate Banks and the need to make these Banks independent of SBI. Finance Minister expressed his opinion that they may consider to club all the Associate Banks into one Bank to make a strong banking entity.

Discussion with Minister of State for Finance: During our delegation to the Finance Minister, we met the Minister of State for Finance Shri Jayant Sinha who suggested meeting in the evening to discuss the issues further. Accordingly, we met him in his office in the North Block in the evening.

Issues taken up: The Minister discussed with us for nearly 45 minutes patiently listening to our viewpoints and explaining the Government’s points of view on the issues raised by us.

The issues discussed with him included strengthening public sector banks, adequate capitalisation of Banks, consolidation of banks, stringent measures to recover bad loans, declaration of names of defaulters, criminal action against wilful defaulters, de-linking Associate Banks from SBI, demands of employees in Associate Banks, proposed privatisation of IDBI Bank, need to rescind the vindictive actions on strikers in IDBI Bank, etc.

The meeting was helpful in directly conveying our viewpoints on all these matters to the Government directly. The Minister suggested one more round of detailed meeting again with AIBEA on these issues.

In the Memorandum submitted to the FM and MoS, the following issues were raised:

1. Banking should be made a fundamental right2. Provide adequate capital to the PSBs.3. Public Sector banks should not be privatized4. FDI/FII is PSBs should be discouraged.5. Public sector banks should not be privatised.6. IDBI Bank to remain in public sector7. All private banks are to be brought into public sector8. Licenses of Payment Banks and Small Banks should not be given to private sector9. Priority sector loans should be further improved.10. More and more branches should be opened in rural and unbanked villages.11. More loans should be given to agriculture and at lesser rate of interest.12. Associate Banks should be made independent banks13. Regional Rural Banks should be 100% under public sector.14. Co-op. Banks should be strengthened and revitalized. Profits of Co-op. banks should be exempt from income tax15. Rate of interest on Savings Deposits should be increased and exempt from income tax.16. Stringent measures are to be taken to recover the huge bad loans in Banks.17. Recovery laws should be made further stringent and more and more DRTs are to be set up18. Names of the defaulters should be published19. Wilful default should be defined as criminal offence20. Thorough probe into the sanction of loans in Kingfisher Airlines and punishing the guilty.